Note: This article was originally published in The Technology Source (http://ts.mivu.org/) as: John G. Inman "Information Technology Initiative Comes of Age at Grove City College" The Technology Source, January 1998. Available online at http://ts.mivu.org/default.asp?show=article&id=1034. The article is reprinted here with permission of the publisher.

Since the fall of 1994, every entering freshman at Grove City (PA) College has received
a personal laptop computer as part of the Colleges Information Technology Initiative.
Then, as now, one of the more dominant principles behind this Initiative was to lay the
foundation for success in using technology, not only during the students' academic careers
but also during their professional careers as well.

The initiative continues today as the 559 students who entered Grove City College in
the fall of 1997 were issued a Compaq Armada 1510DM computer loaded with Microsoft Windows 95 and Works Version 4.0. Bundled with each
computer was a Canon BJC-240L Color Bubble Jet printer. The College retains ownership of
each computer system until a student graduates.

Grove City College is a four-year, private, liberal arts school with a faculty of
nearly 140. Current enrollment includes 2,250 students. Tuition, room and board is $11,050
per year.

Program Objectives

The Grove City College Information Technology Initiative was started to accomplish the
following:

To prepare students for excellence in their chosen profession by providing the necessary
technological tools and instruction;

To recognize, in a tangible manner, the fact that state-of-the-art computing is moving
away from centralized computing and rapidly toward distributed computing facilities
following the concept of Anytime/Anywhere Learning;

To increase the technological resources available to students on campus while reducing
the total cost of technology ownership to the College; and

To centralize all support activities including the computer help desk, training and
repair shop staff.

Why a Laptop Computer?

In 1994, Grove City College, like many other institutions of higher education, was
being challenged by the speed at which computer technology was changing. Students were
graduating with what was felt to be only a limited understanding of technology. Not all
students were required to use a computer and those who were required to use a certain
application did so only for their class assignment and did not take the next step to
integrate an application into a personal life need. Also, students were required to use
one of the many computer labs on campus. These labs had to be constantly staffed,
maintained and improved. The College support staff spent much time traveling to remote
labs to reload corrupted software. Requests to upgrade computer hardware two or three
years after purchase began to increase the cost to our students.

Furthermore, standards for hardware or software had not been established. The small
software support staff was overwhelmed with the duty of supporting numerous software
packages on campus. Although desktop computers typically provide more hardware for the
money, the lack of portability and increased support costs made the decision to use laptop
computers clear.

After considering these major issues, the College adopted a laptop based
one-computer-per-student model. Through this model, Grove City College provided a similar
computer system to each faculty member. Software was standardized to include Microsoft Works for students and Microsoft Office for faculty.

The standardization of both hardware and software on campus has been the single most
important decision related to the Initiative to date. The College has been able to control
its costs for training, support and upgrades because of these standard platforms. Overall,
the decision to distribute a laptop computer to each student and faculty member was based
upon the following benefits:

Laptop computers can easily be transported to a classroom or laboratory to be used in
place of a traditional desktop computer.

Laptop computers are the only true mechanism that can be used to create an
Anytime/Anywhere Learning environment.

Students have convenient and continual access to technology. In fact, students are
allowed to take the computer system home with them during breaks.

New technology is introduced each year through the purchase of equipment for freshmen
students.

The number of computer labs on campus has been greatly reduced.

Students and faculty are required to bring defective equipment to a central repair shop,
thus eliminating the need for technicians to travel to an office or dorm room.

Program Support

The Computer Help Desk and the Computer Repair Shop work in tandem to address
customers' computer needs. The Computer Help Desk is staffed with a full-time college
manager and 35 student workers who work shifts between 8:00 am and midnight weekdays with
reduced hours on weekends. Students are trained to address software, hardware, and
networking issues. All technology-related questions are funneled first through the Help
Desk, before college staff become involved. If a resolution cannot be found, then the
question is forwarded to the Repair Shop staff.

The Help Desk is also the clearinghouse for software training. This one-stop-shopping
model was created to make it easy for customers to gain access to the information they
desired. The Computer Repair Shop is staffed with two service technicians who have been
certified by Compaq and Canon to fix and repair equipment onsite. Appropriate service
procedures have been established to ensure that computer systems are repaired within 24
hours.

The one major computer lab remaining on campus is located near the Help Desk. This lab
is used by students who have a computer in the Repair Shop for service or to house
software too expensive for students to buy.

Classroom Integration

The process of integrating the laptop computer and its associated software into the
curriculum has been gradual. Classes have been taught for faculty to increase skill levels
on Microsoft Windows, Works, Office, and Internet/e-mail tools. Many
faculty members have integrated Microsoft
PowerPoint presentations into their lectures. Assignments and readings are
distributed through e-mail, floppy disk, or via the network. Students are taught how to use
their computers as data acquisition tools in physics and physiology labs and gather assignments
from the chemistry departments Intranet page.

The Communication Department is currently evaluating online collaborative learning
software and exploring the creation of a digital video editing program. The music
curriculum integrates MIDI technology, foreign language classes access Internet readings
online, and the use of complicated spreadsheets and databases in the business curriculum
is now commonplace.

Students use their computer systems in classes and as a study aid. Many students meet
in the library, student union, or dorm rooms and use their computers to take notes, access
online information or review study materials (of course, a few computer games have been
played too). For students, its a matter of convenience. No time is spent in open
labs waiting for access to a computer. With the completion of a campus-wide network during
the summer of 1997, student collaboration via e-mail has increased dramatically, and the
laptop computer has become a part of daily student life.

Future Plans

Two issues exist that must be addressed in regard to the Grove City College Initiative.

First, some students are disappointed because they must keep the same computer system
during the entire four years that they are on campus. Currently, the College does not
offer a computer refresher program that would allow students to turn in their current
computer system for a newer model. The cost to purchase two or more computers over four
years is higher than what the College has desired to pass on through tuition. Students may
purchase more RAM, a larger hard drive or external devices, but they cannot upgrade to a
newer computer model.

Consideration is being given to purchasing a more advanced computer for new freshmen,
in the hope that the technology will remain current for a longer time. During the next
purchase cycle, the College will again explore a two-year refresher program; however, the
high cost and low residual value of a two-year-old computer will probably eliminate this
option again.

Second, the College is considering standardizing on Microsoft Office for both faculty and
student laptops. Currently, Microsoft
Works is installed on each student computer to keep software costs low and Microsoft
Office is installed only on faculty computers, in order to provide more software
power. However, supporting the dual Works/Office platform has increased our Help
Desk costs, as training is required on both programs. Also, students employed at the Help
Desk are not as familiar with the Office software; therefore, faculty who call
the Help Desk do not normally receive in-depth support.

Additionally, this disparity in software packages may mean that students cannot perform
tasks demonstrated by faculty during class. In fact, we have found that many students use
the computer center lab to prepare PowerPoint presentations that will later be
shown in a class while using a professor's computer. Also, faculty have made it clear that
Office, not Works, is more likely to be the application suite in
business and industry. For these reasons, the benefits of incorporating Office
into the students' systems may well outweigh the added cost of the software.

Conclusion

Overall, the Information Technology Initiative has required a great deal of planning
and work. However, the benefits have far outweighed the effort extended. Grove City
College students have become well versed in technology. They are now accustomed to using
technology in their daily work, as software learned in class is now put into practical
application in their personal lives. Is this a model for your school? This is a question
that can be answered only by examining the cost of supporting distributed computer labs
and the benefits of providing true "anytime/anywhere" learning to students.